Bad Day
by Hybryd0
Summary: In the blink of an eye Ryan’s day went from bad to worse
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is a little piece that takes place in my CSI universe in which Ryan joined the team at the beginning of the first season and Speed never died. I'm thinking of doing a complete rewrite of season one, the plot bunny is biting at me, but so far my muses haven't quite figured out how they want to handle that one.

VVVV

In the blink of an eye Ryan's day went from bad to worse. First a blackout sometime in the night had reset his alarm clock making him ten minutes late for work. When he got to work he found his locker defaced just like it always was since he moved up from patrol. Horatio assured him they were trying to figure out who was doing it, but Ryan didn't push it. He knew that some people in the lab and on the police force still looked down on him for his partner's death even though both of them had only been doing their job in a dangerous situation. The only good part of the day was being assigned to work with Speed and Delko. He liked working with them even if sometimes he couldn't tell if Speed was joking or being malicious with his sarcasm and biting wit. Either way working with them was always an interesting experience to say the least.

That was how Ryan found himself waiting on the docks for Delko to rise from the watery depths where he was searching in hopes of finding the murder weapon. Speed had left to take the evidence they had gathered already back to the lab. Ryan was talking with an officer, a nice guy who was one of the only patrol cops not to lay any blame on Ryan for Cameron's death. It was just the two of them on the dock. The other uniforms had been called away to another scene, which was okay because the area had already been secured and one uniform and an armed CSI were enough.

"Do you miss patrol?" Officer Wilson asked, glancing over at the young CSI.

Ryan sighed. "Sometimes."

"I don't know how you do it. You couldn't pay me enough money to spend hours doing that meticulous lab work." Wilson said.

"Someone has to do it."

"Don't get me wrong, unlike some of these grunts out here I appreciate the work you CSIs do." Wilson said. "Without you guys half the pricks we bring in would walk."

"Without you guys we wouldn't catch half the pricks we do." Ryan replied, shooting the officer a small smile.

"Hey now, don't get all mushy on me Wolfe." Wilson teased with a grin. "Word'll get around that-."

If Ryan had still been looking at Officer Wilson he would have seen what was coming, but at that moment he had been looking toward the water watching for Delko. Ryan heard a sharp crack and spun while simultaneously pulling his gun. A backhanded punch caught him square in face and he was knocked backwards. His gun slipped from his grasp and a strong kick to his chest knocked the breath out of him and sent him crashing to the dock. For the first time he saw his attacker was a big man that had a definite height and muscle advantage. The man went for Ryan's gun and the only thing Ryan could do was kick it into the water where the man couldn't get it. The man growled like some kind of wild animal and charged for Ryan.

This time Ryan at least saw the attack coming. He rolled to the side and scrambled to his feet as the man turned to come at him again. Ryan ducked the man's wild swing and snapped off a jab to his assailants gut. The raging man was winded and Ryan made a move to go on the offensive, but his attacker recovered quicker than expected. With the roar of a man ensnared by insanity the bull of a man tackled Ryan as if they were in a major league football game. Ryan grunted as the man's shoulders drove hard into his ribs and the breath was knocked out of him again, this time with a sharp fiery pain and sparks flashed in his vision as his head connected hard with the wooden deck.

"Told you I'd get you."

Ryan had no time to contemplate the man's sneer before he was being pummeled viciously. He wasn't willing to go down without a fight though. He lashed out with a punch to the man's jaw and as his attacker tipped to the side he threw all his body weight into reversing their positions. The big man allowed for the roll, but used his overpowering muscle mass to keep rolling and tried to pin Ryan again, but the ex-patrol cop still had fight left in him. Ryan was able to get his feet pulled up between them and with a mighty kick sent the man flying backwards.

Both men scrambled up at the same time, but this time Ryan's assailant pulled a knife from his belt. Ryan's already quick heartbeat quickened even further. He had training in disarming an armed opponent, but he'd never had to use it before. He'd only been caught this off guard one other time and that had resulted in tragedy. If he wasn't quick on his toes this time it would be his death.

"Gonna gut you, pig." The man snarled.

Ryan didn't say anything and that seemed to infuriate the man even further. The man charged straight at Ryan who leapt back from each swipe and sidestepped each thrust waiting for the perfect time to strike. He was so focused on the knife he only had a moment to get his arm up to block a punch to the jaw and then instinctively put his arm up to block the other attack. The knife sliced through his flesh with ease and Ryan stumbled back, foot catching on a raised plank. His fall saved his life, the slash aimed at his throat caught his cheek instead. His would be killer dove on him, bringing the knife down to stab, but Ryan caught the man's wrist and twisted. The knife skittered across the dock out of reach of either fighter as the man howled. Ryan continued to hold the wrist as he was able to get his feet into play again, kicking his assailant off him.

Ryan lunged at the man, determined to keep him down and off balance, but the other man was obviously an accomplished brawler. Ryan groaned in agony as his already abused ribs took a stiff kick. He didn't have time to recover before his assailant was up and kicking him viciously. Ryan tried to roll away from the kicks, but the man stepped down on his wrist with one foot and then stomped down on his chest with brutal power.

"Don't you remember me, pig?" The man demanded as he continued to beat on his weakening victim. "You took my brother down and told me you'd be back for me."

Ryan's brain was scrambled, but he remembered the drug bust the man was talking about-the Thomason brothers. Ryan and Cam had gotten Paul Thomason for possession with intent to sell, but they hadn't been able to get charges to stick on Henry Thomason. Ryan had hated the fact that they had to let Henry walk and Cam had thought that was going to come back and bite them in the ass. _Guess he was right._

"Well, looks like I got you."

Ryan was silently hoping that Delko would surface, but that was looking like it was going to happen too late. Henry kicked him one more time then reached down and grabbed Ryan by the collar with both hands and pulled him to his feet. Before Ryan could put up a fight Henry's hands shifted and grabbed him by the throat and squeezed as he was lifted off the ground. Ryan had already sustained a devastating beating and simply didn't have the strength left to fight anymore. He struggled weakly, his pathetic kicks doing nothing to faze Henry. He did the only thing he could think of doing. He scratched at the man's hands digging his nails deep into the flesh in hopes of giving his coworkers enough to nail Henry later.

"Say goodnight piggy."

"Drop him!" An authoritative voice barked. Ryan couldn't see what was going on behind him, but he heard movement and recognized the voice. "I said drop him!"

Henry did the opposite. He released one hand and then twisted his other arm so that he was still holding Ryan by the throat with one hand with Ryan's back to his front. Now Ryan could see Delko standing a few feet away with his gun pointed right at Henry and a look of fury on his face. Henry was no longer choking Ryan, but his hold was unbreakable and Ryan still didn't have the strength to free himself.

"Try and shoot me and you'll shoot him instead." Henry taunted.

"Look save yourself another murder charge and let him go." Delko negotiated.

Ryan could feel the growing tension in Henry's body. Obviously the thug was realizing just how screwed he was. If he had just killed Ryan quickly while Delko was still underwater he might have gotten away with it. But now he was pretty much out of options. If he went ahead and killed Ryan he lost his hostage and Delko would take him down. If he let Ryan go he was still going to go down. Any other options he might have had were quickly disappearing as the telltale sound of sirens drifted to the trio.

"Drop your gun or I'll snap his neck." Henry ordered.

"Back up is on the way, there's nowhere for you to go." Delko said, his gun never wavering.

"If I'm going down I might as well just kill him too seeing as how I've already offed a cop." Henry retorted.

"Kill him and you won't be going to trial."

"Are you threatening me pig?"

"I'm warning you."

Ryan still didn't have the strength to put up a prolonged fight, but he knew now all he had to do was give Delko an opening. Before he could the situation tipped in the favor of the good guys as back up arrived in the form of four uniforms, Speed, and Horatio. All of them approached the scene with guns drawn and ready. Ryan could feel Henry's desperation increase as the odds against him went way up.

"If you know what's good for you let him go." Horatio ordered. "You don't want to do this."

"Who says? He and his damn partner put my brother away." Henry growled. "If I'm going to prison I might as well finish what I started."

"You'll get the death penalty for killing two officers."

"Gonna get the death penalty for killing one officer."

Ryan could feel the negotiations were not going in his favor. Henry was going to go down, but it was sounding more and more like he was going to take Ryan with him. Ryan knew that his boss was saying everything he could to save his life, but Henry wasn't biting. It was going to be up to him to save his own life or to at least give them the opening they needed. Delko was close enough to take advantage if Ryan could just gather the strength...

"Take one good look at them, pig. Cause this is the end for you." Henry said just loud enough for Ryan to hear

Ryan lifted his leg just enough to back kick Henry in the kneecap. Henry howled and bent over just enough for Ryan to elbow him in the nose. That was enough for Henry's grip to loosen and Ryan twisted away before his strength gave out. Delko tackled Henry and struggled with him until the four uniformed officers got in on it. Henry was restrained and cuffed with more force than necessary. In an instant Delko was at Ryan's side with Speed and Horatio joining him only seconds later. He heard their worried voices, but as the adrenaline of the situation began to fade so did his grasp on consciousness. As he let the darkness take him he took comfort in knowing he would live to see another day.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I never intended to write another part to this, but my muses thought otherwise.

VVVV

It had been a long, troubling day for Speed. Things had piled up one after another starting nearly getting run off the road by someone who thought they owned the road and ended with one of his friends being hospitalized. His day had been bad, but in perspective Ryan Wolfe's had been much worse. Speed felt bad for the young patrol cop turned CSI. Things had not been going right for Wolfe for the past few years and Speed was sure he only knew half of the whole story. What he did know was that in a call out to a domestic dispute gone horribly wrong Wolfe's partner, Cameron Palmer, had been shot to death when the abusive husband got violent. Speed didn't know the full details, but he did know that in the struggle the husband had gotten a hold of Wolfe's gun and used it to kill Palmer and seriously wound Wolfe.

Speed was drawn out of his thoughts by a soft groan from the bed he was sitting by. Barely opened brown eyes stared back at him. Clearly, Ryan Wolfe had seen better days. He had taken quite a beating the worst of which was hidden by the white blankets. Ryan's ribs had taken a brutal beating, several were cracked, but luckily none were broken. Speed was willing to bet there were some nasty bruises developing. The two most visible injuries were the knife wounds, but luckily neither of them had been very deep. The slash to the face required stitches, but if cared for properly there wouldn't be a scar.

"Hey sleeping beauty." Speed gave his friend a crooked smile. "Y'know, there are a lot easier ways of getting attention." Ryan snorted and opened his mouth to reply, but Speed cut him off. "Don't talk. Doc said your throat would be hurting from macho man trying to choke you."

"Water." Ryan croaked out, voice cracking at the end.

Speed handed Ryan a cup of water the nurse had left behind and watched as the young CSI took several gulps before handing the cup back. Speed put it back on the bedside table then turned his attention to his friend again. He watched in amusement as Ryan's eyes slowly, but surely slipped shut and the young man was once more asleep. He wasn't too surprised by that. Ryan had expended a lot of energy fighting Henry Thomason. Who expected an ex-cop to go down easily? Obviously, Henry hadn't picked up on just how tenacious Ryan was when Ryan and Cam busted his brother.

That was something that Speed felt he had in common with Ryan. They were both tenacious when it came to figuring out the small details. Speed might have jokingly taken credit for that as he had been the one to do the majority of Ryan's training, but he knew it was more of a symptom of Ryan's OCD. Still, they had both spent hours putting together the pieces of shredded documents from a college professor's office. Once they got started, neither of them had been able to stop, even when Speed told Ryan to go home. And when Speed couldn't figure out a strange clicking sound he had gotten Ryan just as addicted to figuring it out.

Not that everything was perfect between them. They clashed a few times and the worst of which was when Ryan accidentally leaked crucial information that had blown their case. There were a few days of tense work after that, but when Ryan swallowed his pride and apologized and was subsequently forgiven things went back to normal. Speed knew that had been a bad week for Ryan and afterwards he felt bad for making Ryan once more feel like he didn't belong. Ryan hadn't done anything on purpose and when they talked over beers later he admitted that the whole situation was too much like what the patrol cops put him through for Cam's death.

And that was another thing that just pushed Speed's buttons. He couldn't understand how the other cops blamed Ryan for Cam's death. He couldn't understand how anyone could blame Ryan for it. Not only blame him, but make him suffer for it too. Speed didn't know how close Ryan and Cam were, but he knew from a news article that the two had gone through academy together and ended up getting partnered up. The few times Speed had seen them together he could tell they were close. It had to be bad enough having lost his friend without Ryan having to deal with the hate from those around him.

"Is he still asleep?"

Speed jolted and twisted in his seat to see Eric grinning at him. "Does it look like he's still sleeping?"

"Has he woken up?"

"What if he has?"

"C'mon Speed, now isn't the time to play the question game."

Speed smirked and twisted around to face the bed again. "You're just mad because I always win."

"You don't always win." Delko retorted, feeling mildly childish for saying it. He rolled his eyes at his friend and moved around to sit at the chair on the other side of Ryan's bed. "So, has he woken up?"

"Briefly. Took a drink of water and then went right back to sleep." Speed answered.

Delko took in the sight of his coworker and grimaced. He still couldn't believe that some creep had managed to get the drop on a cop and a CSI who used to be a cop. Oh he and everyone else had watched the interrogation and heard Henry Thomason's side of the story. The man seemed proud of it all and told all the details. He even, grudgingly, admitted that Ryan had given him more problems than he'd anticipated.

"He's a tough kid." Delko mused.

"I figured that out when he tackled that one suspect who tried to go at Calleigh." Speed said. "Hell, he hit that guy with enough force to knock them both unconscious."

"What I remember most is the look of shock on your face." Eric teased, earning him a glare from his companion. The humor faded from him as he looked over at Ryan once more. "Y'know, the cops that hated him before are just going to be worse now. They're going to wonder why he once more lived while another officer died."

"Yeah, well, those cops left the scene. There should have been more than just one uniform on the scene even if it was supposedly secured." Speed grumbled. "If you hadn't come up when you did he'd be dead."

"Didn't come up in time for Wilson."

"Yeah and I didn't pull Hollis out of the truck in time." Speed sighed and looked at his friend. "You tell me not to blame myself for that, so..."

"Alright, I get your point." Delko relented. "But you and I both know Ryan's going to blame himself for this."

Speed frowned and leaned back in his seat. "I'm not very good at pep talks Delko. I don't do comforting."

"Ah c'mon, you put up the front of a hardass, but inside you're a big softie." Eric teased, grinning at the half-annoyed look thrown his way. "Oh don't give me that look."

"Which look? My thoroughly not amused look? Or the shut up look? Or the don't-make me-hurt-you look?"

"How about all of the above."

"You two crack me up." Speed and Delko looked into the cracked eyes of their previously sleeping friend. "You'd make great comedians."

"We should make you pay for the pleasure of our comedic routine." Eric said, grinning at the recovering CSI. "How are you feeling."

"That's a dumb question Eric."

"It shows I care." Delko shot back, giving Speed a brief glare. He then looked back at Ryan who was smiling just slightly. "Don't mind Mr. Moodypants. He doesn't know how to show how much he cares."

Ryan smirked. "I feel like someone got the drop on me and beat the crap out of me."

"Well, close, but you're leaving out the part where you fought back." Speed pointed out, watching his friend's reaction closely.

Any amusement on Ryan's face faded instantly. He focused his attention on the ceiling and remained quiet. Speed could see Wolfe withdrawing into himself. It was understandable, but frustrating. Speed wasn't exactly sure how to deal with other people's emotions. If it had been someone else he probably would have left it alone, but after working with Ryan for almost a year he had grown kind of fond of the kid.

"Penny for your thoughts." Delko said before Speed could.

Ryan was quiet for a long time and Speed thought he wasn't going to answer. Speed was just about to say something to probe an answer out of the younger CSI when Ryan finally spoke. "I didn't fight back."

Exchanging surprised looks, Speed said, "That's not what Henry Thomason told us."

"I hit him twice. I used to be a patrol cop and some redneck druggie kicked my ass." Ryan sneered, mostly at himself.

"You kept him from killing you." Delko pointed out.

Ryan snorted. "You kept him from killing me. He was happily strangling me and I was helpless."

"He got the drop on you. He had the advantage from the beginning." Delko reasoned. "You are not to blame for anything that happened."

Speed and Delko both expected some form of denial at that. They expected Ryan to argue that the whole situation had been his fault. Ryan's answer proved he was just a step in the right direction of accepting what had happened.

"I know, I know. In my mind I know that there was nothing I could have done to change what happened. That redneck got that jump on two people who were trained to be on guard. I know I'm not to blame." Ryan paused and continued to stare at the ceiling as he went on. "However, my heart tells me I should have sensed something or at the very least heard something. I feel...I didn't know Wilson that well, but...it's another cop that's gotten killed in my presence when I could have done something."

"There's nothing you could have done to save Palmer or Wilson." Eric said as he tried to get Ryan to look at him, but the younger man kept his gaze on the ceiling. "Their deaths are not your fault."

"You may think so."

Speed and Delko shared another look. They knew exactly what Ryan meant by that. The rumblings about another cop dying while working with Ryan had already started up. Things were just going to get worse for Ryan. The hateful words scrawled across his locker weren't going to stop unless they found out who was doing it, but Delko was afraid things would get worse than that. Wilson had been popular among his coworkers and that was going to come back and bite Ryan in the ass.


End file.
